Rookies work to meet expectations at fire department

Chris Smith is still adjusting to the number of people he has to cook for in his new job. He isn’t a chef; he is a firefighter and the breakfast cook at Lubbock Fire Station No. 4.

Smith is one of the 10 new firefighters who started on Oct. 1. Another 15 will begin on Jan. 7.

The Lubbock Fire Department hires every six months as positions need to be filled.

“It is a lot more than I expected,” Smith said about working for the Lubbock Fire Department. “But it is starting to come together.”

Before joining the LFD, Smith worked at Covenant Health Center for three years and volunteered for four years at the West Carlisle Fire Department.

Smith is an EMT-B. Protocol calls for dispatching a fire truck to the scene whenever an ambulance is called.

When fire units arrive on scene first, they will get care for the patient started; ambulance crews have the responsibility to transport the patient. Smith said fire units are sent mostly to provide manpower.

Helping people might be in Smith’s DNA. His father is the fire chief of the West Carlisle Fire Department.

“I grew up around it,” Smith said.

Growing up with two medic-parents and years as a volunteer didn’t mean he was handed a job by LFD. He worked for three years to get into the department and doesn’t feel like he can slack off.

“I earned the spot,” Smith said. “Now I just have to prove I can keep it.”

His experience likely explains why the biggest adjustment for Smith has been station life, and cooking for sometimes 10 people at a time.

Lt. Jeremy Robertson praised Smith as a good worker. He called Smith self-motivated.

“He is dependable,” Robertson said. “He has been showing up and doing his work.”

While Robertson said Smith’s background has helped him, Smith still faces the same big challenge for all new hires — of learning all the duties of the position.

It isn’t just knowing how to put out fires and save peoples lives. There are some pretty basic things rookies need to learn. There are duties at the station, learning the schedule and practices at the firehouse and where to find equipment on the truck and how to use it.

“We ask a lot of our rookies,” Robertson said.

Robertson has been a firefighter in Lubbock for the last nine years. He praised the camaraderie of the job.

“It is like a big family,” Robertson said. “You end up living with these guys a third of the year.”

Firefighters are on duty for 24 hours at a time, and then get 48 hours off before their next shift.

Like Smith, John Newton is a new EMT-B and works at Station No. 6. Also, Newton isn’t the only firefighter in his family. His uncle is a firefighter in Abilene. He also has friends who are firefighters.

Before joining the department, he worked as an assistant manager at Cardinal’s Sports Center.

Being able to work outside an office setting and help people with a variety of concerns appeals to Newton.

“An 8-5 desk job wouldn’t do it for me,” Newton said. “When you get a call out to help someone, you never know what you’re going to get.”

Newton said he liked the crew he worked with and explained the department attempts to match rookies’ personalities with crews where they were assigned.

“I enjoy the camaraderie,” Newton said. “I feel like these guys have just taken me in.”

During their first year on the job rookies are tested once a month on policies and procedures. They also need to study the addresses in their area, but all firefighters do this.

Being prepared for a call out in the middle of the night was one of Newton’s concerns as he started the position.

“I was a little paranoid I wouldn’t be able to wake up,” Newton said, “if we had a call in the middle of the night.”

While he doesn’t sleep as soundly as when at home, Newton said he feels comfortable at the station, and added it is common to sleep differently away from home.

“I was surprised how fast I acclimated to being here 24 hours a day,” he said.

Newton’s first day wasn’t an easy one either. There were 15 calls during his first shift, about double the average, and he hardly got any sleep. But, working at the fire department and helping people feels right to him.

“It is the first time in my life I am doing something it feels like I was meant to do,” Newton said. “This is what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

Newton explained many people misunderstand how food is purchased for the station. The department doesn’t supply meals for firefighters. So at the station where Newton works the firefighters have various funds they contribute to for groceries and supplies.

Lt. Jeff Isom said Newton is a pleasure to work with and praised him for being excited to be on the job. He also noted Newton’s busy first shift.